In the columns of Courrier International, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, director of the WHO, asks the world to act against the “devastating” effects of the long Covid.
Diarrhea, abdominal pain, abdominal bloating and dyspepsia, nausea…Covid long ‘poisons’ affected patients and its effects are ‘devastating’ according to the words of the director of the WHO.
2 million French people could be affected by the long Covid
According to a latest estimate, 2 million French people could be affected by the Covid long (source Public Health France). About 4% of adult French people and 30% of those who have been infected with Covid say they suffer from long Covid disorders.
Positive at first, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus explains: “The pandemic has become less severe thanks to the introduction of several life-saving mechanisms, and we see the light at the end of the tunnel, but the impact of the long Covid in all countries is very serious and requires immediate actions“.
Governments must invest in their health systems to deal with the long Covid
The director of the WHO then speaks of ‘a ‘very serious’ crisis for the planet adding that ‘governments must invest in their health systems to deal with it (at Covid long, editor’s note)’. “This plan must go through immediate access to antivirals offered to patients at risk of a serious form, through investments in research, and through the immediate sharing of knowledge and tools to better prevent, detect and treat the disease. It must also provide for medical and psychological support for patients, and financial aid in the event of incapacity to work.“.
A drama…
For Ghebreyesus, the tragedy remains that some people will be affected all their lives by the long Covid; ‘but how long can this disease which is ‘devastating’ the lives of millions of people last?”, asks the director of the WHO.